Information processing apparatus and information processing method

ABSTRACT

An information processing apparatus includes a communication processing unit configured to communicate with an external communication device and a data processing unit configured to communicate with the communication processing unit via a wired data communication path. The data processing unit is configured to interpret address information received from the external communication device. The communication processing unit includes a memory where data transmitted and received between the external communication device and the data processing unit is temporarily stored. The communication processing unit further includes a control unit configured to control data writing in and data reading from the memory, perform an error check process by a code included in a received data from the external communication device, and transmit the address information received from the external communication device to the data processing unit without interpreting the address information.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/468,509, filed on May 19, 2009 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,082,374issued Dec. 20, 2011, which claims priority to Japanese Priority PatentApplication JP 2008-131824 filed in the Japan Patent Office on May 20,2008, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present application relates to an information processing apparatus,an information processing system, a method of processing information,and a computer program. More specifically, the present applicationrelates to an information processing apparatus, an informationprocessing system, a method of processing information, and a computerprogram, which are configured to carry out communication processing anddata processing associated with the communication processing.

IC cards having IC circuits and antennas that enable contactlesscommunication and mobile terminals having the function of IC cards areused in various fields. An IC card is capable of contact or contactlesswireless communication with a reader/writer. For example, data istransferred wirelessly between an IC card and a reader/writer to carryout data reading and writing at various devices. The processing carriedout between an IC card and a reader/writer is described in, for example,Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-108886.

For example, processing such as that described in the following iscarried out in communication between an IC card and a reader/writer.

The reader/writer outputs a command packet (processing request) to theIC card.

The IC card receives the command packet and carries out processingcorresponding to the command.

The IC card sends back a response packet after carrying out theprocessing.

Such processing described above is carried out.

As apparatuses having an IC card function, there are, for example,mobile phones.

Such as the mobile phone device described above, when an IC cardfunction according to the related art is installed in electronicequipment, the electronic equipment is provided with wirelesscommunication interface for carrying out contactless communication withthe reader/writer; a CPU for carrying out protocol processing for thecontactless communication and processing data associated withcommunication; a memory used as a work area of the CPU; and a IC chipconstituting a subsystem including a wire communication interface fortransmitted communication data to the electronic equipment via thewireless interface and receiving data from the electronic equipment.

More specifically, for example, the configuration illustrated in FIG. 1may be used. FIG. 1 illustrates an information processing apparatus 10,which is electronic equipment, and a reader/writer 1. The informationprocessing apparatus 10 includes a communication processing unit 20 thatprovides an IC card function and an apparatus main body 30. Thecommunication processing unit 20 is a subsystem that carries outcontactless communication with the reader/writer 1. The apparatus mainbody 30 carries out data processing in response to the function of theinformation processing apparatus 10.

The communication processing unit 20 includes an antenna 21 for carryingout wireless communication with the reader/writer 1; a wirelesscommunication interface 22; a CPU 23 for controlling processes carriedout in the communication processing unit 20; a wire communicationinterface 24 for carrying out wire communication with the apparatus mainbody 30; a program memory 25 where execution programs and parameters forthe CPU 23 are stored; a nonvolatile memory 26 where communication datais stored; and a RAM 27 that is a memory used as a work area forprocessing carrying out by the CPU 23.

The apparatus main body 30 includes a wire communication interface 31for carrying out wire communication with the communication processingunit 20; a CPU 32 for controlling processes carried out in the apparatusmain body 30; a program memory 33 where execution programs andparameters for the CPU 32 are stored; a nonvolatile memory 34 wherevarious data that is to be saved even when power is turned off isstored; and a RAM 35 that is a memory used as a work area for processingcarrying out by the CPU 32.

The configuration illustrated in FIG. 1 enables the addition of the ICcard function to various types of electronic equipment, such as mobilephones and personal computers (PCs). Accordingly, communication with thereader/writer is established. In other words, the apparatus main body 30is capable of transmitting and receiving various data to and from thereader/writer 1 via the IC card function provided by the communicationprocessing unit 20.

However, as shown in FIG. 1, when the IC card function is provided tothe electronic equipment, subsystem including an independent CPU, and aprogram memory, a nonvolatile memory and RAM, which are working areasaccessible by the CPU is provided to provide the IC card function.Therefore, the communication processing unit 20 and the apparatus mainbody 30 in the information processing apparatus 10 have the samehardware structure. Such a structure causes a cost increase of theinformation processing apparatus, and prevents reduction in the size ofthe apparatus.

SUMMARY

An information processing apparatus, an information processing system, amethod of processing information, and a computer program, are providedaccording to an embodiment which are capable of adding an IC cardfunction to various types of electronic equipment, reducing the hardwareresource, and reducing the size.

A first embodiment provides an information processing apparatusincluding a communication processing unit configured to communicate withan external communication device; and a data processing unit configuredto communicate with the communication processing unit via a wire datacommunication path and to carry out data processing, wherein thecommunication processing unit includes a memory where data transmittedand received between a communication device and the data processing unitis temporarily stored, and a control unit configured to control datawriting in and data reading from the memory, wherein, when a commandpacket received from the communication device is a data reading request,the control unit acquires data from the memory and transmits the data tothe communication device, and wherein, when the command packet receivedfrom the communication device is a data writing request, the controlunit stores data in the memory, acquires data from the memory inresponse to the request from the data processing unit, and outputs thedata to the data processing unit.

In the information processing apparatus according to an embodiment ofthe present invention, the memory of the communication processing unitmay be a first-in, first-out (FIFO) memory.

In the information processing apparatus according to an embodiment ofthe present invention, when the command packet received from thecommunication device is a data reading request and when data is notstored in the memory in the communication processing unit, the controlunit of the communication processing unit may transmit a commandreception notification to the data processing unit and may transfer acommand corresponding to the request from the data processing unit.

In the information processing apparatus according to an embodiment ofthe present invention, when the command packet received from thecommunication device is a data writing request, the control unit of thecommunication processing unit may store a command, a data identifiercorresponding to data to be written, and data, which are contained inthe received packet, in the memory in the communication processing unit,may acquire the command, the data identifier corresponding to the datato be written, and the data, which are stored in the memory, in responseto the request from the data processing unit, and may output thecommand, the data identifier, and the data to the data processing unit.

In the information processing apparatus according to an embodiment ofthe present invention, when the command packet received from thecommunication device is a data writing request, the control unit of thecommunication processing unit may store a data identifier correspondingto data to be written and data, which are contained in the receivedpacket, in the memory in the communication processing unit, may acquirethe data identifier corresponding to the data to be written and thedata, which are stored in the memory, in response to the request fromthe data processing unit, and may output the data identifier and thedata to the data processing unit.

In the information processing apparatus according to an embodiment ofthe present invention, when the command packet received from thecommunication device is a data writing request, the control unit of thecommunication processing unit may store data contained in the receivedpacket in the memory in the communication processing unit, may acquirethe data stored in the memory in response to the request from the dataprocessing unit, and may output the data to the data processing unit.

In the information processing apparatus according to an embodiment ofthe present invention, the control unit of the communication processingunit may transfer the command packet received from the communicationdevice to the data processing unit, without processing the commandpacket.

In the information processing apparatus according to an embodiment ofthe present invention, the control unit of the communication processingunit may carry out packet grammar check for packet investigation on thecommand packet received from the communication device.

In the information processing apparatus according to an embodiment ofthe present invention, the control unit of the communication processingunit may apply an error check code set for the command packet receivedfrom the communication device to carrying out error check.

In the information processing apparatus according to an embodiment ofthe present invention, the control unit of the communication processingunit may determine whether the command packet received from thecommunication device is a data writing request or a data reading requestand may notify the data processing unit about the type of the receivedcommand.

In the information processing apparatus according to an embodiment ofthe present invention, the communication device may be a reader/writer,and the communication processing unit may receive a command packet fromthe reader/writer.

A second embodiment of the present invention provides an informationprocessing system including a communication device configured to carryout wireless communication; and an information processing apparatusconfigured to carry out wireless communication, wherein the informationprocessing apparatus includes a communication processing unit configuredto carry out wireless communication with the communication device, and adata processing unit configured to communicate with the communicationprocessing unit via a wire data communication path and to carry out dataprocessing, wherein the communication processing unit includes a memorywhere data transmitted and received between the communication device andthe data processing unit is temporarily stored, and a control unitconfigured to control data writing in and data reading from the memory,wherein, when a command packet received from the communication device isa data reading request, the control unit acquires data from the memoryand transmits the data to the communication device, and wherein, whenthe command packet received from the communication device is a datawriting request, the control unit stores data in the memory, acquiresthe data from the memory in response to the request from the dataprocessing unit, and outputs the data to the data processing unit.

A third embodiment of the present invention provides a method ofprocessing information carried out at an information processingapparatus including a communication processing unit configured tocommunicate with an external communication device, and a data processingunit configured to communicate with the communication processing unitvia a wire data communication path and to carry out data processing, themethod including the steps of acquiring data from a memory in thecommunication processing unit and transmitting the data to thecommunication device by a control unit of the communication processingunit when a command received from the communication device is a datareading request, and storing data in the memory, acquiring the data fromthe memory in response to a request from the data processing unit, andoutputting the data to the data processing unit by the control unit ofthe communication processing unit when the command packet from thecommunication device is a data writing request.

A fourth embodiment of the present invention provides a computer programinstructing an information processing apparatus to carry out informationprocessing, the information processing apparatus including acommunication processing unit configured to carry out communication withan external communication device, and a data processing unit configuredto communicate with the communication processing unit via a wire datacommunication path and to carry out data processing, the computerprogram including the steps of acquiring data from a memory in thecommunication processing unit and transmitting the data to thecommunication device by a control unit of the communication processingunit when a command received from the communication device is a datareading request, and storing data in the memory, acquiring the data fromthe memory in response to a request from the data processing unit, andoutputting the data to the data processing unit by the control unit ofthe communication processing unit when the command packet received fromthe communication device is a data writing request.

The program according to an embodiment of the present invention is, forexample, a computer program that can be provided through a storagemedium and/or communication medium readable by a general-purposecomputer capable of executing various program codes. By providing such aprogram in a format readable by a computer, processing according to theprogram is carried out on the computer system.

A “system” according to an embodiment is a logical assembly of aplurality of devices, and the devices having different structures arenot necessarily provided in the same casing.

An embodiment provides an information processing apparatus including acommunication processing unit configured to carry out communication witha communication device, such as a reader/writer; and a data processingunit configured to execute wire communication with the communicationprocessing unit, wherein the communication processing unit includes amemory where data transmitted and received between a communicationdevice and the data processing unit is temporarily stored, and wherein acontrol unit configured to control the data writing and data reading inand out the memory is provided. When the command received from thecommunication device is a data reading request, the control unitacquires data from the memory and transmits it to the communicationdevice. When the command received from the communication device is adata writing request, the control unit stores data in the memory,acquires data from the memory in response to request from the dataprocessing unit, and outputs the data. By using a FIFO memory tosimplify the processing carried out by the communication processingunit, the hardware resource of the entire information processingapparatus can be reduced, the cost of the apparatus can be decreased,and the size of the apparatus can be reduced.

Additional features and advantages of the present invention aredescribed in, and will be apparent from, the following DetailedDescription and the figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 illustrates an example configuration of an information processingunit including a communication processing unit that provides an ICfunction and an apparatus main body.

FIG. 2 illustrates an information processing apparatus according to anembodiment of the present invention, wherein the information processingunit including a communication processing unit that provides an ICfunction and an apparatus main body.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example processing sequence for when theinformation processing apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent invention receives a data reading request from a reader/writer.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example processing sequence for when theinformation processing apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent invention receives a data reading request from a reader/writer.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example processing sequence for when theinformation processing apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent invention receives a data writing request from a reader/writer.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example packet configuration of a data writingrequest sent to a reader/writer.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of writing data in a memory when theinformation processing apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent invention receives a data writing request from a reader/writer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An information processing apparatus, an information processing system, amethod of processing information, and a computer program will bedescribed below in detail with reference to the drawings according to anembodiment.

The present application in an embodiment reduces the hardware resourceand size by providing configurations that adds an IC card function tovarious types of electronic equipment. An information processingapparatus according to an embodiment will be described with reference toFIG. 2.

Similar to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 illustrates an information processingapparatus 100 configured of electronic equipment, such as a PC, and areader/writer 50. The information processing apparatus 100 includes acommunication processing unit 120 that provides an IC card function anda data processing unit 130, which is equivalent to an apparatus mainbody. The communication processing unit 120 carries out contactlesscommunication with the reader/writer 50. The data processing unit 130carries out various types of data processing in response to the functionof the information processing apparatus 100.

The communication processing unit 120 includes an antenna 121 forcarrying out wireless communication with the reader/writer 50, awireless communication interface 122, a control unit 123 that controlsthe processing carried out in the communication processing unit 120, awire communication interface 124 for carrying out wire communicationwith the data processing unit 130, and a memory 125 used as a buffer forcommunication data. The memory 125 is, for example, a first-in,first-out (FIFO) type RAM.

The data processing unit 130 includes a wire communication interface 131for carrying out wire communication with the communication processingunit 120, a CPU 132 that controls the function of an informationprocessing device in the data processing unit 130 and communicationprocessing for the communication processing unit 120, a program memory133 where programs to be executed by the CPU 132 and parameters arestored, a nonvolatile memory 134 where various data that is to be savedeven when power is turned off is stored; and a RAM 135 that is a memoryused as a work area for processing carrying out by the CPU 132.

The data transfer path between the communication processing unit 120 andthe data processing unit 130 is set as a wire connecting path and a datatransfer path employing a serial peripheral interface (SPI).

Through the configuration illustrated in FIG. 2, an IC card function isadded to various types of electronic equipment, such as PCs and mobileterminals, and communication with a reader/writer is enabled. In otherwords, the data processing unit 130 is capable of transmitting andreceiving various data to and from the reader/writer 50 via thecommunication processing unit 120.

The configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 accordingto an embodiment of the present invention, which is shown in FIG. 2, canbe understood in comparison with the configuration of the informationprocessing apparatus 10 described with reference to FIG. 1, thecommunication processing unit 120 of the information processingapparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, whichis shown in FIG. 2, can be understood as having a simplifiedconfiguration in comparison of the communication processing unit 20,which is shown in FIG. 1.

The information processing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment ofthe present invention, which is shown in FIG. 2, differs from thecommunication processing unit 20, which is shown in FIG. 1, in thefollowing embodiments:

(a) the communication processing unit 120 has a control unit 123 that isless powerful than the CPU 123 of the communication processing unit 20,which is shown in FIG. 1;

(b) the communication processing unit 120 does not have the programmemory included in the communication processing unit 20, which is shownin FIG. 1;

(c) the communication processing unit 120 does not have a nonvolatilememory included in the communication processing unit 20, which is shownin FIG. 1;

(d) the communication processing unit 120 has a FIFO type RAM instead ofthe RAM included in the communication processing unit 20, which is shownin FIG. 1.

The program memory and the nonvolatile memory of the communicationprocessing unit 120, which is shown in FIG. 2, may have a memorycapacity smaller than the memory capacities of those included in thecommunication processing unit 20, which is shown in FIG. 1.

In this way, the configuration of the communication processing unit 120of the information processing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 2 issimplified. The control unit 123 of the communication processing unit120 is set as a control logic for executing only simple processesaccording to a specific sequence. Details of the content of processingcarried out by the control unit 123 are described below.

The control unit 123 of the communication processing unit 120 does notcarry out complicated calculations, such as calculations on packetsreceived from the reader/writer 50 and generation of transmissionpackets. Such calculations are carried out by the CPU 132 of the dataprocessing unit 130. The control unit 123 of the communicationprocessing unit 120 carries out FIFO control, such as data writing andreading using the memory 125, and direction control of the transmittedand received data. By employing such a configuration, the size of thecircuit can be decreased and costs can be lowered.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 1, a data reading command from thereader/writer 50 defines the reading processing of the memory 125 of thecommunication processing unit 120. Similarly, a data write command fromthe reader/writer 50 defines the write processing of the memory 125 ofthe communication processing unit 120.

In a configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention,the control unit 123 of the communication processing unit 120 does notdecode an address, which is an identifier corresponding to dataassociated with the read processing and the write processing. Theaddress is transmitted to the data processing unit 130 when necessaryand interpreted at the CPU 132 of the CPU 132.

The processing sequence when a data read out processing (reading)request is issued at the reader/writer 50 will be described withreference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIG. 3 illustrates a read processing sequence when data exists in thememory 125 of the communication processing unit 120.

In Step S101, the reader/writer 50 transmits a data reading request tothe communication processing unit 120.

Next, in Step S102, the control unit 123 of the communication processingunit 120 sequentially acquires data stored in the memory 125 in responseto the reading request. The memory 125 is a FIFO type memory and data issequentially acquired by a first-in, first-out procedure.

Next, in Step S103, the communication processing unit 120 transmits dataacquired from the memory 125 to the reader/writer 50.

Next, the read processing sequence for when data does not exist in thememory 125 of the communication processing unit 120 during the data readprocessing (reading) of the reader/writer 50 will be described withreference to FIG. 4.

First, in Step S121, the reader/writer 50 transmits a data readingrequest to the communication processing unit 120.

Next, in Step S122, the control unit 123 of the communication processingunit 120 transmits an interruption to the command reception, whichindicates that the reading request to the CPU 132 of the data processingunit 130 is received.

In Step S123, the CPU 132 of the data processing unit 130 requestscommand transfer to the control unit 123 of the communication processingunit 120. In Step S124, the control unit 123 of the communicationprocessing unit 120 transmits the reception command from thereader/writer 50 to the data processing unit 130 via the wirecommunication interface.

In Step S125, the CPU 132 of the data processing unit 130 analyzes theoutput command from the reader/writer 50 transferred from the controlunit 123 of the communication processing unit 120. Through this commandanalysis, the data corresponding to the reading request is determined onthe basis of a request data identifier (such as an address) contained inthe command. The CPU 132 retrieves the determined reading request datafrom the nonvolatile memory 34 in the data processing unit 130 andtransmits it to the communication processing unit 120 via the wireinterface.

In Step S126, the control unit 123 of the communication processing unit120 sequentially stores the data received from the data processing unit130 in the memory 125.

Next, in Step S127, the control unit 123 of the communication processingunit 120 sequentially acquires the data stored in the memory 125. Thememory 125 is a FIFO type memory and data is sequentially acquiredthrough a first-in, first-out procedure.

Finally, in Step S128, the communication processing unit 120 transmitsthe data acquired from the memory 125 to the reader/writer 50.

The data transmission from the communication processing unit 120 to thereader/writer 50 in Step S128 may be carried out after being in stand-byuntil the subsequent reading request from the reader/writer 50 isreceived.

As described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, when the communicationprocessing unit 120 receives the data reading request from thereader/writer 50, communication with the data processing unit 130 is notcarried out and data is sequentially acquired from the memory 125 andtransmitted to the reader/writer 50 when the data is stored in thememory 125 in the communication processing unit 120.

When data is not stored in the memory 125 in the communicationprocessing unit 120 upon reception of the data reading request from thereader/writer 50, communication with the data processing unit 130 iscarried out, data received from the data processing unit 130 is writtenin the memory 125, and then data is sequentially acquired from thememory 125 and transmitted to the reader/writer 50.

Next, a processing sequence for when a data write (writing) request isissued from the reader/writer 50 will be described with reference toFIG. 5.

First, in Step S131, the reader/writer 50 transmits a data writingrequest to the communication processing unit 120.

An example configuration of such a data writing request packet isillustrated in FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 6, the data writing requestcontains identification information of commands and transmission andreception devices, a header (head) containing transmission datainformation, a write command (writing), a plurality of paired data setsof identification information (address) of the data to be written andthe data to be written, and a footer containing error check codes, suchas cyclic redundancy check (CRC).

Upon reception of the data write packet shown in FIG. 6, the controlunit 123 of the communication processing unit 120 sequentially storesthe data received from the reader/writer 50 in the memory 125 in StepS132. For example, as shown in the memory (FIFO) 125 in thecommunication processing unit 120 in FIG. 7B, the command (writing)contained in the data writing request packet and the plurality of paireddata sets of identification information (address) of data to be writtenand the data to be written are written according to the data series ofthe packet.

Next, in Step S133, the control unit 123 of the communication processingunit 120 transmits an interruption to the command reception, whichindicates that the reading request from the reader/writer 50 to the CPU132 of the data processing unit 130 is received.

Next, in Step S134, the CPU 132 of the data processing unit 130 requeststhe transfer of the data written in the memory (FIFO) 125 of thecommunication processing unit 120 to the control unit 123 of thecommunication processing unit 120.

In Step S135, the control unit 123 of the communication processing unit120 sequentially acquires the data stored in the memory 125. In StepS136, the acquired data is output to the data processing unit 130. Suchtransferred data is the data written in the memory (FIFO) 125 of thecommunication processing unit 120 shown in FIG. 7B.

In other words, the data “command (write)”, “address 0”, “data 0”,“address 1”, “data 1” . . . are sequentially output to the dataprocessing unit 130.

The CPU 132 of the data processing unit 130 sequentially acquires thedata in Step S137 and writes the received data in the nonvolatile memory134. The data “address 0”, “data 0”, “address 1”, “data 1”, . . . storedin the nonvolatile memory 134 of the data processing unit 130 shown inFIG. 7B are recorded. The addresses are recorded in the memory asidentification information of the data.

When the data writing is completed, the CPU 132 of the data processingunit 130 sends a data writing completion notification to thecommunication processing unit 120 in Step S138.

Finally, in Step S139, the control unit 123 of the communicationprocessing unit 120 sends a processing completion notification to thereader/writer 50.

The processing-completion notification in Step S139 from thecommunication processing unit 120 to the reader/writer 50 may be carriedout after being in stand-by until the processing-completion transmissionrequest from the reader/writer 50 is received.

It is satisfactory so long as the data storage capacity of the memory(FIFO) 125 in the communication processing unit 120 is a capacitycapable of recording one packet of data transmitted from thereader/writer 50. So long as the capacity is sufficient for one packet,when the communication processing unit 120 receives packets from thereader/writer 50, communication with the data processing unit 130 can bestarted after all sets of packet data are written in the memory.

In the processing example described above, the control unit 123 of thecommunication processing unit 120 carries out the following processes:

(A) In response to the data reading request from the reader/writer:

(a1) command of a packet received from the reader/writer is determined;

(a2) command reception to the data processing unit is notified;

(a3) command is transferred in response to the command transfer requestfrom the data processing unit;

(a4) data is received from the data processing unit and data is writtenin the memory 125; and

(a5) data is acquired from the memory 125 and output to thereader/writer.

(B) In response to the data writing request from the reader/writer:

(b1) command of a packet received from the reader/writer is determined;

(b2) the data received from the reader/writer is written in the memory125;

(b3) command reception is notified to the data processing dataprocessing unit;

(b4) data is received from the memory 125 in response to the datatransfer request from the data processing unit and output to the dataprocessing unit; and

(b5) data-writing-processing completion notification from the dataprocessing unit is received and processing completion notification tothe reader/writer is transmitted.

In this way, the control unit 123 of the communication processing unit120 does not carry out high-level processing, such as analysis of dataidentifiers (addresses) contained in a command, when actual datarecording and reading is performed. The memory grounded to thecommunication processing unit 120 is a FIFO type memory. During datawriting, only sequential data writing is carried out according to theorder of the received packets. During data read out, only transmissionis carried out by reading out the data in the order the data waswritten. Accordingly, memory access can be carried out through anextremely simple process.

By employing such a configuration, a less powerful control unit 123 canbe used for the communication processing unit 120. Moreover, for theprogram memory and nonvolatile memory in the communication processingunit, which is described above with reference to FIG. 1, the numbers canbe reduced and/or the capacities can be reduced.

As described above, the communication processing unit 120 of theinformation processing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention includes the memory (FIFO) 125 where data transmittedand received between the reader/writer 50, which is an externalcommunication device, and the data processing unit 130 is temporarilystored. Furthermore, the communication processing unit 120 includes thecontrol unit 123 that controls the data writing to and data reading fromthe memory 125.

When the command packet received from the reader/writer 50 is a datareading request, the control unit 123 transmits data acquired from thememory 125 to the reader/writer 50. When the command packet is a datawriting request, the control unit 123 stores the data in the memory 125in response to the request from the data processing unit 130, acquiresdata from the memory 125, and outputs the data to the data processingunit 130.

When the command packet received from the reader/writer 50 is a datareading request and when data is not stored in the memory 125 in thecommunication processing unit 120, the control unit 123 of thecommunication processing unit 120 transmits a command receptionnotification to the data processing unit 130 and transfers the commandin response to request from the data processing unit 130.

When the command packet received from the reader/writer 50 is a datawriting request, the data recorded in the memory 125 and transferred tothe data processing unit 130 by the control unit 123 of thecommunication processing unit 120 may be any one of the following:

(a) the command contained in the received packet and data identifier anddata corresponding to the data to be written; or

(b) the data identifier and data corresponding to the data to be writtencontained in the received packet.

When the data is (a), the CPU 132 of the data processing unit 130interprets the command.

When the data is (b), the control unit 123 of the communicationprocessing unit 120 interprets the command. In such a case, the controlunit 123 determines whether the command packet received from thereader/writer 50 is a data writing request or a data reading request andnotifies the data processing unit 130 about the type of the receivedcommand.

The processing carried out at the control unit 123 of the communicationprocessing unit 120 and the processing carried out at the CPU 132 of thedata processing unit 130 may be carried out in various ways.

Specifically, for example, when a command packet is received from thereader/writer, the control unit 123 of the communication processing unit120 may process the packet as follows:

(A) the header and footer contained in the packet received from thereader/writer are read, the packet grammar check, such as error check ofpacket by CRC stored in the footer, is carried out to investigate theintegrity of the received packet, and a packet reception notification isoutput to the data processing unit;

(B) in addition to the packet grammar check of the above-described (A),the command is interpret, and the packet reception notificationcontaining the command type is output to the data processing unit; or

(C) only the packet reception notification is sent to the dataprocessing unit, without processing the packet received from thereader/writer.

The control unit 123 of the communication processing unit 120 is presetto carry out, for example, one of the above-described (A) to (C). Theprocessing carried out by the CPU 132 of the data processing unit 130 ischanged in response to the setting of (A) to (C).

In any one of the settings (A) to (C), the control unit of thecommunication processing unit 120 may be significantly less powerfulthan that of the CPU provided on a typical IC card. Thus, the cost ofhardware can be reduced, and the size of the device can be decreased.

The minimum amount of processing carried out at the control unit 123 ofthe communication processing unit 120 is the wireless communication withthe reader/writer, the wire communication with the data processing unit,storing and reading data in and from the memory (FIFO) 125.

The processing of the packet may be carried out in various ways asdescribed above. It is preferable, however, to select the appropriatesetting according to the cost of the information processing apparatusand the size of the apparatus.

Embodiments of the present invention have been described above. It isobvious, however, that one skilled in the art may employ variousmodifications and substitutions within the scope of the invention. Inother words, the present invention is not limited to the embodimentsdescribed above. The gist of the invention is to be understood throughthe claims.

The series of processing may be executed by hardware, software, or acombination of both. To carry out the processing with software, aprogram recording a processing sequence is installed in a memory in acomputer built in specialized hardware and is executed, or the programis installed in a computer capable of carrying out various types ofprocessing and is executed. For example, the program can be recorded ina recording medium in advance. In addition to installing the programfrom a recording medium to a computer, the program may be received via anetwork, such as a local area network (LAN) or the Internet, and may beinstalled to a recording medium, such as an embedded hard disk.

The various types of processing described above may be executedtime-sequentially in the described order or may be simultaneously orindividually executed according to the processing power of the deviceused for processing. The system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention is a logical assembly of a plurality of devices, andthe devices having different structures are not necessarily provided inthe same casing.

It should be understood that various changes and modifications to thepresently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent tothose skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention andwithout diminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore intendedthat such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.

The invention is claimed as follows:
 1. An information processingapparatus comprising: a communication processing unit configured tocommunicate with an external communication device; and a data processingunit configured to communicate with the communication processing unitvia a wired data communication path, and configured to interpret addressinformation received from the external communication device; wherein thecommunication processing unit comprises: a memory where data transmittedand received between the external communication device and the dataprocessing unit is temporarily stored, and a control unit configured tocontrol data writing in and data reading from the memory, perform anerror check process by a code included in a received data from theexternal communication device, and transmit the address informationreceived from the external communication device to the data processingunit without interpreting the address information.
 2. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unitoutputs a reception notification of data from the external communicationdevice to the data processing unit after the error check process.
 3. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein thecontrol unit determines a command request included in the received data.4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein,when the command request received from the external communication deviceis a data reading request, the control unit acquires data from thememory and transmits the data to the external communication device. 5.The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, whena command request received from the external communication device is adata reading request, the control unit is configured to: (a) perform theerror check process, (b) output a reception notification of data fromthe external communication device to the data processing unit, (c)receive a requested data from the data processing apparatus, (d) storethe requested data into the memory, (e) acquire data from the memory,and (f) transmit the data to the external communication device.
 6. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, when thecommand request received from the external communication device is adata writing request, the control unit stores data in the memory,acquires data from the memory in response to a request from the dataprocessing unit, and outputs the data to the data processing unit. 7.The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, whena command request received from the external communication device is adata writing request, the control unit is configured to: (a) perform theerror check process, (b) store data in the memory, (c) acquire data fromthe memory, (d) transmit the data to the data processing unit, (e)receive a completion notification of data writing by the data processingunit from the data processing unit, and (f) output a completionnotification of data writing by the data processing requested data tothe external communication device.
 8. An information processing methodperformed by an apparatus including a communication processing unitconfigured to communicate with an external communication device, a dataprocessing unit configured to communicate with the communicationprocessing unit via a wired data communication path, and a memory wheredata transmitted and received between a communication device and thedata processing unit is temporarily stored, the method comprising:controlling data writing in and data reading from the memory; performingan error check process by a code included in a received data from theexternal communication device; transmitting, by the communicationprocessing unit, address information received from the externalcommunication device to the data processing unit without interpretingthe address information; and interpreting the address information by thedata processing unit.
 9. The information processing method according toclaim 8, further comprising: outputting a reception notification of datafrom the external communication device to the data processing unit afterthe error check process.
 10. The information processing method accordingto claim 9, further comprising: determining a command request includedin the received data.
 11. The information processing method according toclaim 10, further comprising: acquiring data from the memory andtransmitting the data to the external communication device when thecommand request received from the external communication device is adata reading request.
 12. The information processing method according toclaim 8, wherein, when a command request received from the externalcommunication device is a data reading request, the method furthercomprises: performing the error check process; outputting a receptionnotification of data from the external communication device to the dataprocessing unit; receiving a requested data from the data processingapparatus; storing the requested data into the memory; acquiring datafrom the memory; and transmitting the data to the external communicationdevice.
 13. The information processing method according to claim 10,wherein, when the command request received from the externalcommunication device is a data writing request, the method furthercomprises: storing data in the memory; acquiring data from the memory inresponse to a request from the data processing unit; and outputting thedata to the data processing unit.
 14. The information processing methodaccording to claim 8, wherein, when a command request received from theexternal communication device is a data writing request, the methodfurther comprises: performing the error check process, storing data inthe memory, acquiring data from the memory, transmitting the data to thedata processing unit, receiving a completion notification of datawriting by the data processing unit from the data processing unit, andoutputting a completion notification of data writing by the dataprocessing requested data to the external communication device.
 15. Acommunication processing apparatus comprising: a first interfaceconfigured to communicate with an external communication device; asecond interface configured to communicate with a data processingapparatus via a wired data communication path; a memory configured totemporarily store data transmitted and received between the externalcommunication device and the data processing apparatus; and a controlunit configured to control data writing in and data reading from thememory, perform an error check process by a code included in a receiveddata from the external communication device, and transmit addressinformation received from the external communication device to the dataprocessing apparatus without interpreting the address information. 16.The communication processing apparatus according to claim 15, whereinthe control unit outputs a reception notification of data from theexternal communication device to the data processing apparatus after theerror check process.
 17. The communication processing apparatusaccording to claim 15, wherein the control unit determines a commandrequest included in the received data.
 18. The communication processingapparatus according to claim 17, wherein when the command requestreceived from the external communication device is a data readingrequest, the control unit acquires data from the memory and transmitsthe data to the external communication device.
 19. The communicationprocessing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein when a commandrequest received from the external communication device is a datareading request, the control unit is configured to: (a) perform theerror check process, (b) output a reception notification of data fromthe external communication device to the data processing apparatus, (c)receive a requested data from the data processing apparatus, (d) storethe requested data into the memory, (e) acquire data from the memory,and (f) transmit the data to the external communication device.
 20. Thecommunication processing apparatus according to claim 17, wherein whenthe command request received from the external communication device is adata writing request, the control unit stores data in the memory,acquires data from the memory in response to a request from the dataprocessing apparatus, and outputs the data to the data processingapparatus.
 21. The communication processing apparatus according to claim15, wherein when a command request received from the externalcommunication device is a data writing request, the control unit isconfigured to: (a) perform the error check process, (b) store data inthe memory, (c) acquire data from the memory, (d) transmit the data tothe data processing apparatus, (e) receive a completion notification ofdata writing by the data processing apparatus from the data processingapparatus, and (f) output a processing completion notification to theexternal communication device.
 22. The communication processingapparatus according to claim 15, wherein the communication processingapparatus is an IC chip.
 23. An information processing method performedby a communication processing apparatus configured to communicate withan external communication device, and configured to communicate with adata processing apparatus via a wired communication path, thecommunication processing apparatus including a memory where datatransmitted and received between the external communication device andthe data processing apparatus is temporarily stored, the methodcomprising: controlling data writing in and data reading from thememory; performing an error check process by a code included in areceived data from the external communication device; and transmittingaddress information received from the external communication device tothe data processing apparatus without interpreting the addressinformation.
 24. The information processing method according to claim23, further comprising: outputting a reception notification of data fromthe external communication device to the data processing apparatus afterthe error check process.
 25. The information processing method accordingto claim 23, further comprising: determining a command request includedin the received data.
 26. The information processing method according toclaim 25, further comprising: acquiring data from the memory andtransmitting the data to the external communication device when thecommand request received from the external communication device is adata reading request.
 27. The information processing method according toclaim 23, wherein when a command request received from the externalcommunication device is a data reading request, the method furthercomprises: performing the error check process; outputting a receptionnotification of data from the external communication device to the dataprocessing apparatus; receiving a requested data from the dataprocessing apparatus; storing the requested data into the memory;acquiring data from the memory; and transmitting the data to theexternal communication device.
 28. The information processing methodaccording to claim 25, wherein when the command request received fromthe external communication device is a data writing request, the methodfurther comprises: storing data in the memory; acquiring data from thememory in response to a request from the data processing apparatus; andoutputting the data to the data processing apparatus.
 29. Theinformation processing method according to claim 23, wherein when acommand request received from the external communication device is adata writing request, the method further comprises: performing the errorcheck process, storing data in the memory, acquiring data from thememory, transmitting the data to the data processing apparatus,receiving a completion notification of data writing by the dataprocessing apparatus from the data processing apparatus, and outputtinga processing completion notification to the external communicationdevice.